ETSU announces inaugural group of Quillen Distinguished Research Fellows

JOHNSON CITY (Sept. 22, 2020) – East Tennessee State University recently announced its inaugural group of nine Quillen Distinguished Research Fellows.

“Quillen College of Medicine has a very strong mission of research, so we developed a new fellowship program that recognizes established researchers who have developed a long history of external funding and sustained, productive research programs,” said Dr. Greg Ordway, associate dean for research and graduate education at Quillen. “The purpose is to get them together to fertilize collaborative research endeavors and to develop ways to increase research programs at ETSU through collaboration across departments and colleges and with local medical facilities.”

The fellows also will provide mentorship for other researchers, scientific review of Quillen research and scholarship grants, and expert advice to Quillen administration about research-related areas.

The nine Quillen Distinguished Research Fellows are:

• Dr. Alok Agrawal, a world leader in C reactive protein research who is changing scientific understanding of this acute phase protein;
• Dr. Eric Beaumont, whose discoveries regarding autonomic control of the heart are rapidly being translated to therapy in humans;
• Dr. Theo Hagg, whose innovative research is revealing novel approaches to the treatment of brain trauma and stroke;
• Dr. Donald Hoover, who is conducting groundbreaking research that is refining, if not redefining, the understanding of neuronal control of cardiac function;
• Dr. Chuanfu Li, whose groundbreaking research is changing the understanding of how factors related to immunity regulate cardiac function following a heart attack;
• Dr. Jonathan Moorman, who has made major strides in the understanding of HIV and hepatitis C, and who has plans with Dr. David Williams and Dr. John Yao to considerably expand COVID-19 research at ETSU;
• Dr. Krishna Singh, who has made important novel discoveries regarding factors that contribute to heart failure;
• Dr. David Williams, a national and international leader in sepsis research that is opening the door to the development of novel therapies; and
• Dr. John Yao, who is nationally and internationally recognized for discoveries regarding immune disruption in chronic viral infections.

These fellows met or exceeded rigorous criteria for the fellowship, including a strong publication history, a sustained research program with a high level of research funding, highly active laboratories, and multiple research service contributions. They will be reevaluated each year based on the criteria, and new fellows who meet the criteria will be added annually.

“This outstanding group of investigators are recognized leaders in the each of their fields and would be stars at research level 1 institutions anywhere in the world, not just here at Quillen,” Ordway said. “I am very proud to work at an institution where they do their research, and I congratulate each of them for their many successes thus far in their careers. 

“The administration of the College of Medicine is very fortunate to have this incredible group of research minds help guide our college in establishing and achieving our future goals in medical research.”